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Chapter 125: Appreciating the Finer Things

At half past one, Nathanial opened the front gate for his grandmother, allowing her to drive her Ferrari through. Earlier, after Liam finished his story, the Ancient One and the Mage went upstairs to share some tisane to give Nathanial the chance to calm down, while the two Spirits spent some time in the gym to exercise. Really, they argued more than they kicked the heavy bags; the solemn theme of duty trumping love which ran through Liam's story struck way too close to home for Geoff. After Nathanial drank his third cup, he helped Liam run home to fetch some stuff, like supplies to assist Nanny in her experiments and clothes for the week, and to talk to Walter. The Mage even talked to Conor to ensure Geoff and Faelen were allowed to stick around while his grandmother was over. Conor was reluctant, to put it mildly, but with Liam and Nathanial here, and the fact that Conor and Dirk would be coming over to visit anyway, the elder McDougal decided they could stay. The Water Elemental _did_move up his timetable and would be over in about ten minutes.

Nathanial picked at the sleeve of his t-shirt; he'd bought it last spring, and it fit a little too snugly for comfort around his chest and arms, now. He continued to fuss with the sleeves as he trotted toward the entryway. He greeted his grandmother. *Hi, Nanny. If you want to park by the garage, I'll open it so you don't have to walk as far outside.* It still poured buckets, but the wind had let up enough that Nanny said the drive would be manageable. The weather reports on CBC said the worst was over as the improvement Nathanial had sensed took hold.

*Thank you, dear.* The 'car' -- that word just didn't match the magnificence of the mechanical marvel -- purred like a monstrous housecat as it glided around the curved driveway and slid smoothly to a stop near the door to the three-car garage. Nathanial would've let her park it inside, but all three bays were full. Lily's black Lincoln Navigator was still there, since Dad hadn't decided what to do with it, and his two cars took up the other spots.

Nathanial opened the door for her as she dashed through the heavy rain carrying three heavy-looking bags. He reached the door connecting the house-proper and the garage just as she made it inside. "Let me carry those, Nanny." He reached out with his telekinesis and took them from her. They weren't quite as heavy as he thought, except for the bag holding a grimoire. The deep red leather reminded him of the Succubus Grimoire, but this_skin was much thicker, and as coarse as the other one was smooth. Black hair stitched it all together, and the clasps and decorative bits on the cover seemed to be carved out of black horn. _Definitely another demonic grimoire. He didn't even need to feel the palpable malevolence pouring off it when his mind brushed against it to realize it didn't like him or that it was evil.

Rosemary smiled at him and cast Drying on herself. "Thank you, Nathanial. You're looking good; I can see you've been working out a lot." She looked around and sniffed disdainfully at the Lincoln. "That's obviously Lily's." Dad's Mercedes AMG got a, "Better, but still practical, especially for winters here," but the sight of the Porsche changed her demeanour. Her ears canted forward and her tail wagged. "Now _that's_what I was expecting." She trotted to the far end of the garage where it was parked and did a full walk-around. "Nice, though nowhere near my Ferrari. I'm surprised he watched his budget when splurging, but with Lily throwing money around like it was confetti, I guess he had to." Nathanial thought that was the nicest thing she'd said about his dad so far.

"U-Um, do you want some tea? I'll be putting some on for Liam, anyway."

His grandmother trailed the pads of her paw over the hood of the car as she walked by before she tore her eyes away from it and followed her grandson into the house. "That would be nice, dear. The chill is unpleasant, so I'd quite like a nice spot of tea. Honey and lemon, if you please."

"That'd be a black tea, then? Irish breakfast? I have a nice English one, too. Or Assam, Ceylon, Earl Grey, a Chinese pu-erh?"

The bags trailed along docilely as they neared the ballroom. Nathanial slowed down to look into the room as he considered upcoming visits from the Cork Clan, though he'd seen it often enough that he didn't actually have_to. If they only had fifteen people over -- the nine people living in Nova Scotia plus a minimum of six O'Conalls -- setting up tables in a room designed to hold forty-five people in a fine-dining format seemed...odd. The room would dwarf them uncomfortably. The formal dining room was made for twelve people, and the informal or small dining room was for eight. He _could split the diners into two groups, but divisions based on age just made no sense. The O'Conalls would want to eat with Liam; escorting Geoff to a hockey game (and partaking themselves) was mostly an afterthought compared to visiting their reincarnated father and grandfather. He couldn't separate Faelen and Liam, either, and that meant Geoff would need to be there, and as the host, Nathanial couldn't dine separately from the guests... *Pah! That idea isn't worth considering.*

Nanny waved her paw in front of his face making him jump. "Nathanial? Is something wrong?"

He felt his face heat up and ducked his head in embarrassment. Ignoring a guest like that was unconscionable. "I-I'm so sorry, Nanny! I w-was just trying to make plans f-for this week. I h-have a bunch of people coming over, a-and I was trying to figure out where we'd eat."

The elderly Akita arched a white eyebrow; the orange fur on her head stretched almost all the way down to her eyes and arced around the outer edges to the tops of her cheeks, but she had white ovals that went from the top of her muzzle where it met her face and up along her brow ridge. They were actually quite similar to the tan spots on Liam's face. "And these guests can't fit in the dining room? I didn't think you were the type of pup to throw wild parties as soon as your parents were out of town."

How did she know Dad was out of town? He never mentioned it; he just said Dad wouldn't be here for supper. That may imply he was gone, but it certainly wouldn't imply any timeframe. "Poppy heard that I helped Dad travel?"

"Yes." She beamed at him in obvious pride. "All the way to Taipei! Even Gordon can't do that!" She sobered up quickly. "The Society didn't have a chance to properly analyse your portal -- a lot of strange magic permeated the area around it -- since you closed it too quickly, but the initial findings are worrisome. They compared it to the..._incident_during your test at the Society headquarters, and there are a lot of similarities. That glitch that you pointed out at the edge of the anti-magic aura was present at the edge of the portal, too. Actually there were _multiple_ones."

Nathanial shivered violently as did the bags he carried telekinetically. The Things. "Y-Yeah, I-I-I know. Th-They were th-there. W-Waiting. Watch-ching." He giggled. "Always watching. Always waiting. Sitting beyond the boundary, beyond space, beyond time. Old, older than the stars, and hungrier than a black hole."

His grandmother stepped back, spooked. "Nathanial?" She edged forward reaching for him cautiously. "Dear?" She jumped back in fright when one of the panes of glass in the ballroom door frosted over and cracked loudly.

Nathanial cackled and teased his grandmother. "Yes, sugar?" The Mage tipped his head to the side and stared at the foggy pane. It looked like cotton candy fog. "Bang, bang, go Hunter guns. Mom's blood, the red tide runs." He stoked the door and the image of Lily lying on the kitchen floor appeared in the window, hiding the ballroom behind. "Thickly flows blood so sweet, driv'n forth by subtle beat. Honey combed through body rest, spilt forth from sundered breast. Treason met on that day, with new force found she doth lay, by my paws stained deep red. Mother dearest, she is dead. Bang, bang, goes Hunter's gun, signal for so much fun. Lives to take, blood flow free, sweetens my evening tea."

Snow wandered into Nathanial's head, blithely unconcerned. *You are feeding us well, Alpha, but we don't think you wish to be.* The Mastiff yawned, wherever he was, but the mental cue was contagious.

Nathanial felt himself yawning broadly, jaw creaking as it spread as far as it could go, and his ears popped. A second yawn chased the first and brought tears to the corner of his eyes. He reached up and rubbed them away, along with everything he'd just seen and done. When he reopened his eyes, he saw his grandmother watching him leerily, like she was scared of him for some reason. Did he threaten her? When did he do that? He tried to think back over the last few minutes, but all he could remember was talking about company coming over and helping Dad get to Taipei. "Is something wrong, Nanny?"

Rosemary tipped her broad head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not sure, but I think I should be asking you that. How do you feel?" She brought out a pad of paper and jotted down the time and date.

"I-I'm fine. Wh-Why?" Did he do something bad? Snow moseyed along, seemingly bored with the discussion.

She cast the tetra-bioscan and then a variant of the type three biochem scanning formula. Maybe it was a type four? She quickly jotted the results down in a shorthand he didn't know. She flicked her index finger, and a small, bright light appeared over it. Another gesture followed; the magic patterns suggested some sort of visual enhancement. "Look over my shoulder." He did, and she leant in to check his eyes. The second spell must be one for visual acuity and magnification. Neat. Actually, he recognised several of the succeeding spells as the same ones she cast on Nick when Nanny studied him.

"U-Um, did m-my heart act up?"

The question took her off-guard. "What? Why would you ask that?" She looked at her notes with a frown and then back at him. "I noticed your blood pressure is elevated, and your pulse is too high for a resting state, but I just thought that was stress. Your blood chemistry indicated high levels of stress clearly. Do you have a history of heart trouble? Your aunt Martina did, but she outgrew it, and it's relatively common on Wallace's side of the family. Garret would have known that if he'd bothered to pay any attention to his studies." She frowned at her notes again.

Nathanial scuffed the floor with a hindpaw. "U-Um, y-yeah, I d-do. Liam has me o-on the strongest me-med-m...stuff he can safely give me. I-It's helping, b-but it mightn't be enough."

She snorted disdainfully. "And I bet he refuses to let anyone else help you." She glanced at the pad of paper and cast another spell. The frown deepened and she wrote several lines of abbreviated notes. "That _is_quite something. I'd like to see that medicine."

Nathanial hesitated, but she wouldn't do something to risk his health...he hoped. "Th-The next option if the medicine doesn't f-fix it, he says, is s-surgery." He pulled out the small bottle. "Y-You are just looking at it, right?"

She took it and peered at the bottle. "And studying it. I won't do anything to alter it; I know better than to mess with a...'doctor's' prescriptions." She shot him a dirty look. "I was a nurse for decades, Nathanial." She passed it back and cast two spells, taking copious notes on the results. "Some stints in those veins around your heart would do wonders for you, but I bet he refuses to relinquish the control he has over you. This way he can threaten to cut off your supply if you don't obey him. Like a dealer threatening an addict."

He snapped angrily at his grandmother. "He's made no demands on me at all! He's doing what he genuinely believes is the best course of action, based on what he knows about me, the person. Stress is a huge part of the problem, and going in for surgery, with the recuperation period, would probably be really bad for me." Gods. Being laid up for _weeks?_What would happen to the house? Who'd feed Nick and Mikey? His school work? _Their_school work? Would Geoff visit a lot, or would his attention be diverted toward Faelen -- the guy he could actually work out with, take walks with, have _sex_with?

His grandmother pulled him into a warm hug. "Calm down, dear. If just thinking of surgery gets you that worked up, then I'd have to agree with that Ancient One. This time." She let him go and gestured down the hall. "Let's get that tea, hmm? I'd like to get started on the wards soon. If we can find a cure for Nick, I think it'd be beneficial for both of you."

No question of that. It'd be a huge load of stress off his shoulders. They made their way into the kitchen and began preparing the tea. Nathanial loaded the bags into the dumbwaiter and sent it down to the laundry room; they would set up the wards in the ample space of the storeroom.

Micah bounced up the stairs. "Hi, Nanny!" The pup's greeting was warm, and the way his tail whipped around said it was genuine, but Nathanial thought he noticed a bit of wariness in the set of Micah's eyes and the tilt of his ears. He still hadn't forgiven her for the slights on Dad, or the terrible things he knew she'd done as a Demon Mage. Nathanial knew that _he_hadn't, either, and might never do so. She'd never earn complete trust from either of them.

Nanny spread her arms wide to give her youngest grandchild a huge hug. "There's my darling boy! I was wondering where you were hiding!" As soon as the Changeling was in reach, she hauled him in and smothered the top of his muzzle with kisses, making Micah laugh and squirm. Did she ever treat Dad_like that, like he was loved and valued? Or was all of her affection lavished on _Gordon?

Micah glared at his eldest brother. "Someone didn't say you were here, Nanny. I guess he didn't want to." The little monster was_still_ going on about the way Nathanial corrected his grammar.

Nathanial scowled mockingly and shook his fist at his baby brother. "Ya wanna go, boy? One of these days!" Micah laughed and joined in. _"Pow!_Right in the kisser!"

Nanny rolled her eyes. "Ah, shut up!" She joined in the laughter. "I didn't think you would've seen that show. It ended in the fifties."

Both pups looked at her blankly. Nathanial asked the obvious question. "What show?"

She shook her head in incredulous bemusement. "The Honeymooners. The show that quote came from, along with, 'Bang! Zoom! Straight to the moon!'" The continued blank stares made her laugh again. "Then perhaps you'd know it as the inspiration for The Flintstones."

Micah shrugged. "Nope."

Nathanial shook his head. "No. I've noticed The Flintstones_in the TV listings, but on the occasions I've flipped to it, I thought it was horribly animated, poorly scripted, and generally a shoddy piece of work. Anime, at least the stuff that makes it over here, is a _lot better in all respects."

Their grandmother sighed. "Well, it was first made in 1960; you can't hold it to the same standards as new cartoons."

The kettle beeped, and Nathanial poured the hot water into a teapot. "Oh! What type of tea?"

"A breakfast one. Either is fine."

Nathanial measured out enough leaves for four cups and mixed it in. Liam would be horrified to see him put the leaves in after the water. As if the thought summoned him, Nathanial noticed Conor's SUV approach laden with the two Spirits, Liam, and Walter. Nathanial hadn't expected Walter to be coming over.

Nanny reached over to the bowl of citrus on the counter and pulled out a lemon. "Where are your cutting boards, dear?"

Nathanial took it from her and used his mind to squeeze the juice out into a small serving vessel. "Less mess." He brought out a jar of honey and portioned off a bit for her. "Liam and my friends' fathers are on their way. They'll be about three minutes or so, plus the time it takes to get inside. Do you want to wait here, or get set up downstairs?"

She pondered a moment. "I'll wait. The tea will be ready then, and it would be polite to say hello before getting to work." Her tone turned teasing. "We will be family soon, right?"

Nathanial's face heated up. He loved the idea and all, but the way those promises got around and the teasing that resulted were humiliating. But still, 'I'd like you to meet my husband, Geoff.' His heart fluttered in his chest, followed by a flock of butterflies taking up residence in his stomach at the thought of walking down the aisle, escorted by Dad, and seeing Geoff standing there flanked by Faelen and Liam. He'd look so sharp in a tux. His fiancé waiting with a second ring to officially claim him. He squelched a squeal of joy and then tried to bury his head between his shoulders when Micah and Nanny laughed. It was probably pretty obvious where his train of thought had gone. Two years and a bit. That's all. By Aphrodite, what an eternity. At least he didn't have to wait for Geoff to claim him in the bedroom.

Micah whispered loudly to his grandmother, "I think we've lost him!"

She whispered back, "He's gone to a better place, at least."

Nathanial thought his ears would burst into flame at any moment. "C-Come_on!_ I, well, h-he's just so...hot."

Nanny laughed, joined by Micah. She checked the progress of the tea and sat back. "He's a very handsome young Wolf, yes, and he seems to be very polite and friendly, though I haven't been given a chance to get to know him."

Nathanial found himself distracted from his embarrassment for a moment as the Spirits and the Smiths reached the perimeter fence and he opened the gate for Dirk. *You can park by Nanny's car. The garage door is unlocked.*

Dirk nodded; he seemed a little tense. Nathanial didn't know if it was because he'd have to go through the whole 'outing' process again with more of his family, or because Nanny -- a powerful Demon Mage -- was here. Judging by the dark 'bodyguard' suit and the nearly complete bone armour underneath, it was probably the latter. Out of curiosity, Nathanial checked Dirk's suitcase and, yes, the missing helm and gauntlets were in there. He'd brought his entire_combat armour, and, um, a leather harness and other..._toys. Not his business.

Nathanial refocused his attention inside. "I haven't met a lot of Geoff's extended family yet either, and certainly haven't spent much time getting to know them." He walked around the island to reach the intercom.

Micah fiddled uncomfortably with his beryl pin. "'Cause it sounded like you fought with the ones you did meet. I heard Faelen talking to Geoff once about Rolph and how you two tried to kill each other as soon as you met. He's still kinda confused about how that happened. And then there's Geoff's mom."

Nathanial sighed. "Yeah, it's probably a good thing I haven't been flung into the middle of a family gathering of McDougals." He punched the code for the basement intercoms and mashed the transmit button. "Company's here." He turned to see his Nanny studying him. "Rolph's the major reason Geoff and I have to hide, and he was being an ass to Conor. I was also under a lot of stress. I...snapped. Conor, and then the alpha, kept it from spiralling_too_ far out of control." He took a few steps toward the hall. "I'm going to greet them. Anyone joining me?"

Nanny poured a cup of tea. "As a fellow guest, it's inappropriate for me to greet them at the door."

Micah's ear ticked toward his grandmother for a split second before he jumped off his stool. "I'll go, I'll go!" He skipped past Nathanial. "Water flows, water goes, water comes to visit. Brooks do bubble, streams will chuckle, rivers whisper and sigh. Little Fey child, sweet and wild, stands before the sea. Games to play, merry and gay, 'fore Nyx stops by. Water flows, water goes, to visit 'nother day." Conor would probably have really liked that, as would Dad. Micah skipped and sang the whole way, followed by a sedate, if amused, brother.

They reached the entryway just as the door to the garage opened. Dirk stood there looking quite menacing despite a complete absence of emotional cues. A quick glance around, hidden by the dark glasses, and the Bone Spirit relaxed. He stepped forward and hugged Nathanial, though that armour didn't make it a comfortable embrace. "Good afternoon, my Dark Mistress. Is the master doing well?" Everyone was already dry; Conor must have done it.

What did Geoff call him sometimes? He couldn't remember, so he just quipped, "Yes, my bone knight. I ensured the prince of darkness was well-fed and kept entertained."

Dirk snorted and burst out laughing, as did Conor. Nathanial noticed Walter looked a little troubled and opened his mouth to say something, but Liam just shushed him with a poke to the ribs and a devilish smile.

Conor followed his bodyguard into the house while Dirk greeted Micah. He hugged Nathanial firmly. "Hi, Son."

"Hi, Daddy. How did the job go?"

Conor stepped aside and shook his head. "It went well, but the results are confidential. It's for the Monks to deal with." He hugged Micah. "Hi, Sprite."

"Hi!" The young pup saw the small pile of suitcases and bags just on the other side of the door. "Are you guys staying the night again?"

Conor shrugged. "We haven't decided. We will be here most of the week, so we decided to just bring our clothes and such now. That way, if we do go home, we needn't worry about driving back over if it's just the two of us."

Walter shook Nathanial's paw. "I'm sorry to drop in on you unannounced, but I've been very busy the last little while, too busy to spend much time with my son. With his family coming over this week, I hoped to seize the opportunity while I can."

Nathanial readily understood that and found it a little sad that Walter didn't feel comfortable enough meeting the O'Conalls. The whole thing around Muireann's death must be really eating at him. "I-It's no trouble at all! Please, make yourself at home." He sent the bags floating down the hall. "I'll drop these off in your rooms -- the same ones you used last time -- if you don't mind."

Dirk glanced down the hall. "And Mrs. Marks?"

Nathanial knew precisely what he was wondering. "Not a problem. She'll be working with Liam in the storeroom most of the afternoon and evening."

Walter frowned and hooked two fingers between the buttons on his shirt to scratch his stomach, muttering, "Bloody winter fur; always itches when it starts to come in early. I hate wearing clothes when it does." He raised his voice to a conversational level. "So what is all this about? And don't say 'Hidden World matters. It does not concern you.'"

Liam's brow creased so fiercely the tan spots almost became a single smudge of colour. "It does not. I do not wish you to be involved or placed at risk. Merely heed my warnings and stay away from her unless Nathanial or I are present."

Micah blew a raspberry. "Dummy. Your dad's not a pup, Sensei, and that's a stupid argument anyway, even when you're talking to one. Not knowing isn't gonna keep him any safer. You don't need to spell out all the details, just say she's evil and works with Demons." Liam's face went completely blank, but his eyes would put a basilisk to shame.

Walter crossed his arms and looked at his son. "See? If Micah can give a sufficient answer that easily, there's no reason you can't when I ask a question. I can't protect myself from threats I don't know exist."

"You cannot protect yourself from a Demon regardless of your knowledge, or lack thereof, of their existence, let alone a Demon Mage."

Nathanial reached over and rubbed Liam's arm. "I-I think it's better to know. He's your d-dad and I know you want to keep him s-safe, but I think Micah's right. It's not like knowing will make your dad suddenly go out with a vendetta against the Cabal or some other s-stupid thing. It's also not like Nanny goes around murdering people for no reason. She knows that if sh-she did something to hurt your dad or--" He gestured at the two Spirits. "--anyone else, we'd make her pay for it. She's not stupid...just, well, evil." He sighed. "She's waiting to say hi and meet everyone before she gets to w-work, so let's make the introductions. P-Please?"

Nathanial barely waited for any response and began walking down the hall. Conor followed, with an extremely serious Dirk trailing a pace behind. Liam regarded Micah a moment longer, who merely stared back with crossed arms, before joining the others.

Micah grabbed Walter's paw, crying, "Let's go!" Once Walter started walking, the Changeling began skipping down the hall swinging his arms, and thus one of the older Rottie's, too. "Water flows, water goes, water comes to visit..."

In the kitchen, Nanny just poured a cup of tea for herself and added lemon when Nathanial led his guests in. She set the cup down on her saucer and rose from the tall kitchen stool. Nick followed suit, though he wore his leather coat and didn't have any tea.

Conor nodded to Nick. "Afternoon, Nicholas. Heading out?" Dirk made no acknowledgement of the younger Demon Mage's presence at all and merely kept his position by Conor's shoulder. Behind those dark lenses, his eyes noted every minute detail of the elderly Demon Mage, weighing each twitch and breath for signs of spellcasting. Nathanial could feel the Bone Spirit's power hovered at the very verge of manifesting.

Nick nonchalantly tipped his head back in response. "Hey. Yeah, goin' out. 'S'up, Sensei?" His brother was in full 'cool mode.' Something was bothering him. Dirk's behaviour, perhaps? The prospect of getting an answer from Nanny's tests? Something to do with his school friends?

Nathanial started the introductions, but flicked his mind over to his brother while he did. *What's wrong?*

*Nothing.*

*No? Then you expect something to go wrong? I know you, Nick, and something is troubling you.*

*I said nothing was wrong, Nathanial. I'm fine.*

Conor and Dirk bowed their heads to his grandmother but didn't offer to shake paws. She noticed, but said nothing. Nathanial expected this, so he kept the introductions going as he tried to pin Nick down. *I've warned you about lying, Nick. I know something is bugging you. Tell me to mind my own business or something; just don't lie.* Should he ground Nick for that? The rules did say lying was an automatic grounding.

Nick drawled sarcastically. *Riiight. Because that's worked so well.* His mental voice became squeaky. *You are my business, Nick. Don't tell me you're not, because I'm an overprotective shithead.* He snorted derisively. *Come on, Nathanial, I know you, too.*

Nathanial felt his hackles rising. Lying and swearing at him? Would that make it three weeks? "Don't swear like that, _Nicholas!_I'm serious!" The rest of the people in the room stared at him in confusion.

Liam quickly figured out what was going on. "Mrs. Marks, let us start on our project." He gestured toward the stairs. "Shall we?"

Conor followed his cue. "Walter, I need to talk to you too, and this sounds like a good time. Let's go sit in the salon." Everyone dispersed, leaving Nathanial and Nicholas to glare at each other.

The younger Marks leant back against the wall, folding his arms and resting his weight on one hindpaw. "Then let's just skip to the chase. You don't want me to have any secrets or try to deal with any problems I may -- or may not -- have on my own, while you are keeping tons of stuff from me and go out of your way to ensure I can't help you. If I say nothing's bothering me, why do you need to press the point?"

Nathanial nearly exploded with aggravation. "I don't do that! And it's not about you keeping secrets, it's you lying!"

Nick rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that crap! You do keep secrets! What's up with J. W. D. then? There's something there you aren't telling me. And what trouble are you guys having with gods? Besides old thunder-butt trying to blast Sensei for something that happened millennia ago. And 'nothing' isn't lying. It's short for 'it's nothing I want to talk about,' or 'it's nothing serious,' or anything to imply that the inquisitor should mind his own damned business! You say it, too!"

Nick had him on those two things; he was keeping his worries about Hecate secret and how Mr. Doull was a priest of hers who'd been carrying out some sort of secret mission involving them before Micah was born. How could Nathanial answer his brother's charges without being a hypocrite?

He was spared the dilemma, for the short term, anyway. The younger Marks pushed himself away from the wall and began walking toward the front door. "See? Even you know I'm right. Don't bother making an excuse for keeping secrets; I already know the answer. You're an overprotective--" His muzzle curled up disdainfully. "--poo-head. You think you're protecting me. That's also why you blew up over nothing; I'm heading out, and that scares you. You don't want to admit it, so you got angry, and even now you're contemplating grounding me to keep me here."

Was he? The thought had crossed his mind, but that was because Nick lied and swore at him. Wasn't it? Nathanial took his paw away from his pocket, the pocket his phone lay in -- his tie to Nick. He called out to his brother, and the teen stopped by the door to the informal dining room. "You _are_right. I think. I-I just don't know anymore. You don't have a rain coat on, or any warm clothes. You'll get sick. You could get hurt going out in this weather. What if Beriatana finds you?"

Nick didn't even turn around. "Cut that shit out! I mean it!" He punched the door, cracking the fine frosted glass in several of the panes. Now_he whirled around. "And what if she doesn't!? What then!? Do you want me to stay a prisoner forever? Or _you!? Will you give up on Geoff, your friends, just to stay by me the whole time because you think for some whacked reason that only you could keep me safe? You aren't some sort of god, Nats, sent down from Olympus to keep Mike and me safe. You're a pup, just like me, and it's you that needs protecting and helping!"

"I-I've kept you safe... I raised you."

Nick stormed back. "Yeah, and at what price? How many times did you get beat up? What sort of existence did you have? I can't even call what you had a life, for fuck's sake! Just stop it!" He reached the kitchen, and the fury in his face made Nathanial recoil, but Nick just hauled him into a hug. "For a smart guy, you're fucking stupid, shithead. How many times do we have to do this? Micah, Sensei, and now me. And I'm sure_the other guys got after you too, when I wasn't around. Get it through your fucking thick skull. It's time for you to take care of _you. Mikey and I are doing fine; you're not."

"B-But--"

Nick seemed to know what he was going to say. "And Sensei and Nanny are looking into it. There's nothing you can do to help them right now, so unless you want to get a leather paddle and tan my ass before you fuck me senseless, there's shit-all you can do to help me." He pushed the older Akita back with an insolent grin plastered on his muzzle, though his gold eyes still betrayed his worry. "Do you want to get a paddle? I could use some of that help."

"I-I--"

The Demon Mage snorted. "Yeah, I know." He rolled his eyes and drawled sarcastically. "I have an umbrella. I cast Water Ward on my coat, and I'll cast it on that, too. If I get chilly, I know Warmth."_The heavy sarcasm faded out, but some of the condescension remained. "It'd have to suddenly plunge almost forty degrees before I'd be at risk of hypothermia. Hera's mercy, Nats, I'm in more danger of exposing the Society than suffering from the elements." He patted his pocket. "I have my phone, and I've _proven I'm strong enough to at least hold off an attack until you get there. I have Mind Ward on, too, so I can't be ensorcelled easily, either." Nick punched Nathanial's arm and strode off down the hall again. "I need to run, or I'll miss my bus." He waved over his shoulder. "Chill out, take it easy, and get bent over. You seem a lot calmer after Geoff fucks your ass. With a dick like that, it's no surprise."

'Water Ward? I don't know that one. It might be useful.' Nathanial raised his paw to wave at his brother. "U-Um, yeah, bye." His other paw cupped his phone.

Geoff led Faelen upstairs and hugged the trembling Dog. "You okay?" The pup nodded; he really did feel okay wrapped in the protective embrace of his prince of darkness.

Faelen reached around his boss and scritched one of Nathanial's ears. "Nick was right about some of it, though it's much easier to say_than _do. You need to stop worrying so much about them." The grey Wolf chuckled deprecatingly. "Not that I have any room to talk." He grabbed Geoff around the shoulder, pulling him away from Nathanial in the process, yanked the taller Wolf down, and began grinding his knuckles into the white fur. Geoff yelped in surprise and struggled futilely so he could try to escape. "Not when I have this knucklehead to watch out for. I can't let him out of my sight for a minute." Faelen released the disgruntled Elemental with a laugh before hugging his Mage friend. "You need to let Nick _live,_even if it can be a bit scary. If he goes out in the rain and catches a cold, he may take more care next time." Geoff moved behind Nathanial and rubbed the Dog's back, all the while giving his bodyguard the evil eye. Faelen just grinned back between the orange and white ears. "Though it sounds like he's well-prepared -- more prepared than we were this morning."

Faelen let Nathanial go and grabbed the kettle. Geoff immediately glommed onto his boyfriend. "Hey again, boyfriend." He lifted Nathanial's chin. "Where were we before we got interrupted?" Nathanial was pretty sure Geoff hadn't been about to kiss him before Faelen got in the way, but what the hells. It sounded good to him.

The kiss lasted until the kettle clicked off. Geoff arms stayed around Nathanial, but the Wolf leant back far enough to brush his pink nose lightly over the Dog's black one. "So, do you still need calming? I can bend you over right now if my dick is the medicine you need."

Conor cleared his throat. Nathanial nearly jumped out of his fur; he never sensed Conor, Dirk, and Walter walk into the kitchen, let alone sit at the island with a bottle of beer each for Conor and Walter. That kiss really was_distracting. Conor chuckled. "Considering how distracted you two were, I'd say the kiss took his mind off his troubles. I'd also wager Nathanial doesn't want to leave Sensei and his grandmother alone too long _or have sex with her around. You two aren't exactly that quiet."

Geoff's paw slid down to cup one of Nathanial's rump cheeks and give it a firm squeeze. "With an ass like this to play with, 'quiet' isn't something that crosses my mind."

Nathanial felt his face burn with embarrassment. "G-Geoff!"

Walter laughed. "A bit of vocal appreciation doesn't hurt."

Dirk unfroze enough to quip, "My dark master is vocal enough to appreciate a dozen asses."

Geoff grinned evilly. "Or just Nathanial's. It's fine enough to warrant a Royal Salute."

Conor sighed and put his paw over his eyes. "I don't need to know how many shots you fire, Geoff, no matter how fine his ass is."

Nathanial tried to shrink further into Geoff's arms. "C-Come on,_g-guys! That's _e-enough!"

Faelen poured some of Liam's soothing herb tea into a large mug and slid it toward the Akita. "You're right, Nathanial. I think you should take that and go see how things are going; Liam is getting annoyed. We should also say hello, since Geoff and I haven't yet." Dirk stiffened back up and the laughter in Conor's eyes vanished.

Nathanial took the mug and escorted the two teen Spirits downstairs.